Computing-scale.



l No. 687,294. Patented Now-26, 190|.

s. BENGsToN.

'COMPUTING SCALE.

(Application led Apr. 6, 1900.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SWAN BENGSTON, 'OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

COM PUTlNG-SCALE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 687,294, dated.' November 26, 1901.

Serial No, 11,907. (No model.)

To @ZZ 1071.071?, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, SWAN BENGSTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new an'd useful Improvements in Computing-Scales; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specifica tion.

My invention relates to improvements in computing-scales; and the general object of my invention is to provide a novel, cheap, and convenient computing-scale. Said object I attain by the novel construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lisafront elevation of my improved scale. Fig. 2 is a top View of Fig. l, with most of the scale-platform B and the base A in Fig. l cut away. Fig. 3 isa face view of the cost-indicating dial or disk on so small a scale of drawing that dashes are used to represent the figures on the disk.

Referring to the drawings by letters of reference, A is the base, B the platform,and C the uprights of the frame of a scale of ordinary construction of the class of scales so calculated that one pound placed on the poiseholder F balances ten pounds put on` the platform; also the jointed rod D and beam E will be recognized as common in scales.

Between the uprights C extend two herb zontal frame-bars Gr, united near their middle by a bridge H, supporting the bifurcated stud or post I, in which the scale-beam E is fulcrumed at .I, while the upper section of the rod D is pivoted to the beam at K, and at the end of the long arm of the beam is suspended the poise-holder F beyond the usual guide L, in which the beam plays up and down in the slot N.

A Mis a short arm on the guide serving as a pointer to indicate to the eye when the beam is partly lowered in the slot N. The figures at the side of the beam and the poise P are only for the weight of boxes, barrels, and

other tare. The poise Q, moving by turning it on the screw R, is carried by the beam and serves to adjust the scale when moisture or dirt puts it out of balance.

S is a stud secured in and projecting rearwardly from the scale-beam. On this stud I place the central holes of three sheet-metal disks or dials T, U, and V, (see Fig. 2,) of about even size. The front and rear disks have lugs WV, secured by the studs X to the beam. Y are washers to keep said two disks apart, so that the middle disk U may iind room and turn between the other two. The front and rear disks are, however, drawn so tightly together near the center by the nuts u, and shoulder b of the stud that the diskUis held in any desired position by the friction upon it. The disk U carries at its upper edge the poise (Z, which is provided with two pointers e andy, by which to point out upon weightseales, like 7L, at the upper edge of the front and rear disks the weight of the goods placed on the scale-platform. It may here be stated that on all complete scales of my construction the front and rear sides of the dials look alike, except that the scales marked thereon read in such reverse order as is necessary in order to enable the customers (usually standing near the back of the scale) to read the same weights and costs as are indicated on the front side of the scale, where the clerk stands. As the poise d is moved by hand toward the right along the scale h, which in the present drawing shows only ten pounds, but may be made for much higher weight, the weight of the poise is first acting on the beam bybeing removed from over the short arm of same, and, further, it acts by being broughtfarther and farther out over the long right-handarm of the beam, thereby forcing the beam down untilit stands free in the slot N in the guide L, and when it assumes that free position then the pointer e indicates on the poundscale 72, the weight of the goods on the platform.

The front disk T is provided with three equidistant radial zigzag rows of apertures jj, with adjacent price -indicating figures marked on the front disk. In Fig. l it will be seen that the left-hand row contains all prices of even numbers of cents per pound from two IOO to twenty cents, while the right-hand column shows all odd prices-three, five, seven, 85e.- upto twenty-one cents per pound, and the third column, which runs plumb downward on the lower half of the disk, shows all usual fractional prices, like two and one-half, three and one-half, upto twelve and one-half cents per pound. All of said price-figures have a radial mark Z pointing to the cost-figures and penny-marks m upon segmentally-curved cost-scales marked or painted upon the costiudicating disk U, which shows its scales through the apertures j j. This will be more readily understood by looking at Fig. 3,where the cost-disk is shown to be laid out in three sets of cost-scalesjt1 for even-numbered prices, o for fractional prices, and a for odd-numbered prices. Then look at the cut-aways t and it' in Fig. l, where the scales 7s ando can be partly seen. The benefit of having the price scales and rows of apertures running zigzag is that such construction enables me to draw the radial marks Z toward all radial cost-indicating marks on the cost-scales, and also that the price figures are not so apt to get mixed up by being crowded into a straight line, so that half of one number and half of another may be read together and make a false price.

In operation the goods are placed on the platform B and the poise d is moved on the pound-scale 7L until the beam stands free in the guide N. The pointer c will then indicate the weight of the goods, and by looking at the cost marks and figures adjacent the price per pound for the goods the cost or amount for the weighed goods will be found. If the goods on the platform weigh more than the capacity of the scale 7i can indicate, then poises indicating ten, or twenty, or forty pounds, tbc., are placed on the poise-holder F to take the tens of pounds in excess of the capacity of scale h. The cost of the goods indicated at F is calculated in any old manner and added to the cost indicated upon either of the scales le, 0, and a. As the scale stands in Fig. l, it indicates half a pound on the scale 7i, and accordingly all costs appearing at the apertures are only half of the adjacent pricefigures per pound.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A computing-scale having in combination a suitable frame, a scale-beam mounted in the frame and a platform operatively connected with the short arm of the beam, a disk or price and weight indicating dial secured to the beam and provided with apertures in radial rows with adjacent price-figures and radial marks pointing toward the apertures, and having near its upper edge the weightindicating scale it; an oscillating disk pivotally secured at its center to the beam concentric with and close by the price-indicating disk, said oscillating disk being held by friction in any position, and having at one edge a poise and a pointer by which to indicate weights upon the scale h, and upon its face cost-indicating scales adapted to show their figures and marks through the apertures in the price-disk, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A weighing-scale having secured to its beam a vertically-disposed disk with a poundindicating scale along its upper edge, and in its face several radial, zigzag rows of apertures with adjacent price-figures and radial marks pointing from each price-figure toward the aperture nearest to it, a cost-indicating disk pivoted tothe scale-beam and having segmental cost-scales visible through the said apertures, and secured to its edge a poise adapted to be moved along the pound-scale, andhavingapointertraveling over thepoundscale, substantially as set forth.

3. In a computing-scale, the combination with the platform and a fulcrumed beam having two opposite arms, one of which is connected with the platform, of a poise-holder at the other arm of the beam and a vertical disk pivoted to the beam and carrying at its upper edge a poise and a pointer, and upon its face segmental cost-scales, a disk secured to the scale-beam and having radial rows of apertures exposing the scales on the pivoted disk, and price-figures near each aperture,and the weight-indicating scale 7a near the upper edge adjacent the pointer, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. Acomputing-scale,havingin combination a platform, a fulcrumed scale-beam forming two opposite arms,one of which is operatively connected with the platform, a friction-held disk or dial pivoted to the long arm of the beam and carrying at its edge a poise and a pointer, and having its face laid out in three about equally-sized segmental spaces if., n ando, one of which is laid out with cost-scales of goods at even-numbered prices, the other for oddnumbered prices, and the third with scales of cost at fractional prices, a price-dial concentric therewith secured to the beam and provided about one hundred and twenty degrees apart with three radial rows of apertures, through which to read the cost-scales, and with price-figures of even numbers along one row of apertures, and price-figures of oddnumbered prices along the other row, and price-numbers of fractional prices along the third row of apertures, and. near or along its upper edge a scale upon which the pointer may indicate pounds and fractions of pounds, or weight of any denomination, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof l affix my (gnature in presence of two witnesses.

SWAN BENGSTON. Witnesses:

A. M. CARLsEN, .ToHN W. G. DUNN,

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